Living In Annapolis, MD - A real estate homes for sale blog by Charles Kraus for buyers and sellers interested in residential homes and land located in the greater Annapolis, MD area including Maryland's nearby Eastern Shore and the Counties of Anne Arundel, Queen Anne's, Talbot and Caroline.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Quite a few years ago when home inspections were just becoming more commonplace, we had one of our listings inspected by a very competent, knowledgeable and professional inspector. He found so many things wrong with the house that it “killed the deal”.

Upon review of the overwhelming list of repairs, the seller complained about how the inspector made the sale fall apart. They wanted to know what I was going to do about it.

My response was, “Mr. Seller, it is unfortunate that this happened, however we now have a list of items which we can repair so this doesn’t happen with the next buyer we have. After all, would you want to buy a house with this many things wrong with it?”

I think he was taken aback, but he begrudgingly agreed that yes he could see that these repairs needed to be made and so he set about taking care of them, albeit this time by exclusively using professional licensed contractors and tradesman.

The very next offer we accepted also had a home inspection and there were still a few minor things to repair, but it was a short list and the seller completed those repairs and we had a successful settlement. All ended well, except for the survey, but that’s another story. (We worked that one out too.)

When it was all over, my wife and partner asked me, “Would you use that first home inspector who found so many things wrong with the house?” I replied “Absolutely! When representing our buyer clients we want the very best inspector!”

Well, that was nearly 20 years ago and we’re still using that same home inspector today and he’s inspected over 8,000 homes in his storied career. Today, we recommend a pre-inspection to our seller clients to head off any repair surprises.

When you are looking for an agent to help you buy or sell your home, be sure to work with one who brings the very best team of affiliates and service providers to the table. You’ll be glad you did!